Necrophage

The Hidden People

Indeed....

The Hidden People

Even eldritch horrors didn't produce the kind of revulsion that Gray suddenly had for this gender-bending creature before them. The hunter shuddered, wishing he could say to Autumn, 'It looks dangerous, can I shoot it?'. He liked money though and that would probably endanger his paycheck.

The commotion behind the door of murmuring and suddenly mirthful laughter made this place feel more like the sub entrance to a psych ward. Were these guys going to be allies? Not exactly his first pick. "I'm Gray. I specialize in killing things that don't like staying dead. What's this about a mummy?" Despite being unable to see the ghost it wasn't uncommon to try holding a conversation.

The Hidden People

*Shiver* Parael makes me cringe sometimes.

The Hidden People

Upon hearing their destination Gray already had his suspicions that something could go wrong so he put on his full body armor accordingly. It was made to be durable, light and still give him great freedom of movement to withstand some of the most vicious blows, lacerations and bites so he could do his job. It certainly didn't make him invulnerable, it simply lessened the impact a mistake or surprise might make, like any good armor does. The only piece he left off was the helmet. The gaudy thing was painted with a white skull that had three red scratches over each eye and covered his face. He liked it because it could prove terrifying to a squeamish foe and doubled as a gas mask. The whole set was a default blue with a small family crest on the right breast. All loosely hidden under his grey jacket. For this trip, he brought his AA12 shotgun, leaving the rest in cases in the car.

The ubiquitous spider queen led the way. It was still rather impressive she was able to navigate the underground so easily. Unlike Gray, Autumn was at ease in the dark. Gray kept a flashlight on his rigging out of tactical necessity yet they had been lucky enough to travel in dim illumination. As they grew close to the shelter door he kept two hands on his shotgun, ready for the worst.

The Hidden People

Oh Heimdall. I don't want to know the kind of things he sees.

The Hidden People

I think it'd be pretty cool to have eight legs. Preferably with four of them having fingers. Then again having two feet makes shoe shopping easy.

The Hidden People

Gray brought in the same case he usually carried and rested it at the foot of the bed he had been designated. It held his armor and rifle with parts included. The suite wasn't something he generally stayed in but it held a charm he wasn't entirely unused to. The Conover family had their own small fortune though it had waned as of late, a product of the trials made by the modern age. He hoped to bring that wealth back and secure their spot as respectable hunters.

The seats were cozy and clean in the common area, a perk he took immediate advantage of. Gray wasn't much a drinker. Inhibited senses were never fun in a situation like this. You never could tell what could go wrong.

Autumn took a seat. No, it wasn't Autumn, it was Arachne. That's right. He couldn't get over the name. Screw Arachne, I'm still going to think of her as Autumn. Autumn took her seat and opened up for questions. Except he didn't really have questions to ask. Not about her. "Autumn. What do we do next? I've got the tools, give me a target. One way or another we need to stop this magic. Whether we hit some minions or go for the head. I'm sick of waiting for more people to die."

The Hidden People

Gray was thankful a simple no was sufficient enough for her to correct him. He hated lectures. Autumn paused appearing withdrawn for a moment before she continued. Gray really could have seen Autumn Weltich as an alias but then she said exactly what she was. He parked the car on the side of the street.

Cars drifted by. It was obvious by the buzz of the town that a lot of people had heard the commotion in the distant neighborhood. Since it most certainly had direct relation to this situation he figured it would never make the news. Gray sat there in silence for an uncomfortable moment. After the moment ended he put the car in drive and started on down the road again. Quietly drifting down the road a ways he asked a loaded question he already knew the answer for. "Have you killed anyone?"

The answer didn't matter. He already had his own response planned. "I have. The worst monster I ever met wasn't covered in fur, claws or scales. He was a man. I had to kill him because he was far more deserving that fate than anyone else." Though he liked to know someone like anyone else, he didn't want any more reason to be angry at her or think about his personal code. "Don't hide it anymore from me. But I don't really want to hear anything else about it right now." He'd been brooding since she broke the dam. Gray would get over it pretty quickly, he usually did.

The Hidden People

The patter and boom of conflict sounded through the windows. Gray's attention was slightly distracted as he drove. Several times he shifted his gaze to the source of the sound as they drove to make sure they weren't in immediate danger. They were heading downtown at Autumn's direction.

Autumn spoke over the distant gunfire. She sounded like she was trying to butter him up with basic info he knew for some big secret. Gray responded to the question. "Yeah. I know the myths." He glanced briefly at her just enough to see the hesitation in her face. "Arachne was cursed by the gods like Medusa was. Pissed them off really bad. Some perfect gods they were to lose their cool that easy." He trailed off, again looking at some movement on the side of the road.

"Is that who we're gunning for? Is Arachne behind this?" He assumed.

The Hidden People

Moving made sense. If this rebellious faction were paranoid enough to attack these two strangers the thin walls of this little motel room would be like paper to a beast's claws. "Thanks." He said in response to the compliment. Gray threw on his black jacket to conceal the shoulder holsters beneath and tossed the remaining loose articles into his suitcase. She was right to keep other people out of this, no need for additional corpses.

Gray laughed a little as she mentioned that she trusted him enough to not kill her in her sleep. "Don't make me blush." His mood became a little heavier at the mention of something he may not like. It was mysterious. Not that he didn't know she may very well have enough information to topple a small nation. More disturbing was the fact that she wanted to share some of that with him when it wasn't her norm . Tension's rising.

"I don't know if you drove in or not but I'm taking the suburban. It's got the rest of my stuff." Gray hefted the suitcase up and started on down the hall. When the suburban had quit on him as he attempted to leave it started up again when he wanted to go back into town like nothing had happened to it to begin with. Damn magic. At the exit he stopped. The all too familiar noises of explosive combat hailed his ears in the far distance. These guys had explosives. Great.

Ignoring the distraction for the time being he popped the back of the suburban open and crammed the suitcase in with its sister. He had no idea who was who in this town and what sides were fighting. He was at this point a confused bystander - and man did he hate it! "I'd love to get out there." Gray shook his head with a frown. "Let's figure this mess out before they blow up the rest of the city." He got in the driver's side and made ready to take directions from Autumn. They would have to avoid the conflict for now. Unless Autumn knew who they were they'd both be in the way.